Poker is a popular game throughout the world. It combines principles of card games known for centuries in Europe but in it's present form it is distinctly of American origin. There are numerous forms of poker and the main divisions are: Draw Poker, in which all of a player's cards are unknown to his opponents; and Stud Poker, in which some of a player's cards are face up and others face down.
In modern casinos the game of poker takes one of three forms: `live` poker where players compete against one another but the games are controlled and supervised by a house dealer--the games are not a contest between the players and the casino--and the casino imposes a levy either in the form of a participation fee or as a percentage of winning hands; electronic video style machines offering Draw Poker; and poker played as a bankers game either where the game involves players in contest with the dealer's hand or where the object is for the players to obtain a good poker hand, in both cases the paytable is structured in such a way that the pay-offs are not based on the true mathematical odds thereby resulting in the casinos enjoying a favourable advantage.
The present invention named Showdown Poker, marries the principles of `live` poker and poker played as a banker's game; players compete against one another and they play against the house in that the pay-offs on some of the wagers give the house a favourable edge. The present invention combines the two basic forms of poker; Showdown Poker is a blend of Draw Poker and Stud Poker wherein players receive cards, the identity of which is unknown to one another and which they may discard and in return receive replacements face-down and each player's hand is partly composed of community cards, one or more of which are face up.
In essence Showdown Poker introduces new features and structures not found in any of the three forms of poker found in casinos. The game of Showdown is innovative in that no other casino game in the United States or elsewhere is structured whereby players are offered both the option of discarding and a Pot Bet which is a bet solely between the players and where the house is not in contest with the players.
Despite the fact that the principle of using cards or other means as a result selector in a board game to constitute a game of chance and/or skill is well established, room exists for the improvement of such games and for devising new layout designs coupled with the modification, adaptation and innovation of conventional structures of play. This principle is accepted by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and is exemplified by the granting of Patents to inter alia:
______________________________________ McKeever No. 2,712,446 July 5 1955; De Keller No. 3,693,977 Sept 26 1972 Monek No. 3,826,498 July 30 1974 Berman No. 4,902,019 Feb 20 1990 Page No. 5,133,559 July 28 1992. ______________________________________
The principle objective of the present invention is to provide a gaming layout arrangement and set of structures and rules of play which effectively blends the old and new in casino poker whereby a game is produced which is a balanced mixture of skill and chance and which is both easy to operate and easy for players to understand. In the past `table games` generated a larger volume of money wagered than slot machines. The picture has changed in recent years and today slot machines account for a higher revenue than traditional table games. This situation has arisen for a number of reasons. Innovation in design and technology have made slot machines more exciting and the jackpot element in slots has grown into mammoth payouts. As a consequence of the above situation casino owners are receptive to the introduction of new table games in order to revive the aura and excitement of live gaming. Showdown poker is a game designed to achieve the above objective.
Various other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the detailed description of an exemplary embodiment thereof and the novel features will be particularly apparent in the accompanying drawings in conjunction with the appended claims.